Rahul Gandhi has lost his mental balance: BJP

Rahul Gandhi has lost his mental balance: BJP

Reacting strongly to Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's remark that the Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh was no different from banned terror outfit Students Islamic Movement of India, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said the young leader seems to have lost his mental balance and has shown political immaturity by his comments.

"Only a sick mind can do it (compare RSS to SIMI). He seems to have lost his mental balance. RSS is an institution of nationalist thought while SIMI has been banned by their (Congress) government as it was banned by us when we were in power," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

'Congress knows it is not winning in MP'

Gandhi had earlier in the day said in Bhopal that RSS was a 'fanatical' organisation and was as fundamentalist as SIMI, a banned student organisation involved in terror activities. His comments against RSS, the fountainhead of the Sangh Parivar, seems to have rattled the party.

Javadekar said, "The Congress knows it is not winning in Madhya Pradesh. I can understand its frustration"

'Rahul was referring to two different ideologies'

Retaliating to the BJP's comments, the Congress stepped up its attack on the RSS for its remarks against Rahul Gandhi, saying the right-wing outfit is a 'master in spreading rumours'.

"What Rahul Gandhi has said is correct. RSS has no answer to what Gandhi has said. The Congress does not have to learn history and culture with RSS. They are known masters in spreading rumour," said All India Congress Committee general secretary Digvijay Singh.

He was reacting to the RSS hitting out at Gandhi, saying the Congress leader needs to learn more about the country before making 'meaningless' statements.

'Rahul should brush up his knowledge'

"He should brush up his knowledge before making meaningless statements. He should know the difference between RSS and banned outfits and know the history of the Congress party, which has been accused of fundamentalism in the last six decades," RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav had said.

Seeking to turn the tables on the RSS, Singh said, "Ram Madhav should read history. The BJP called Jinnah secular while the Congress always fought against his Muslim League. The RSS supported the British during the freedom struggle while we fought against them."

'It is time the RSS introspected'

The Congress leader said the RSS has a large number of organisations including Bajrant Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Abhinav Bharat "who are involved in various kinds of activities". He claimed that a number of persons belonging to these organisations have been found to be involved in terror incidents and dared the RSS to deny their association with it.

"It is time the RSS introspected on what people associated with it are doing," Singh said.

'Javedkar should first get his mental check up done'

He said the RSS or Ram Madhav's statements should not be given any significance as "they keep on making false statements". Singh also reacted strongly to the remarks of BJP spokesperson Prakash Javedkar that Rahul Gandhi seems to have lost his mental balance.

"He (Javedkar) should first get his mental check up done," the AICC leader said.